Public Benefits and Health Care

Alliance

While advocates did blunt some of the force of the Mayor’s proposal to eliminate the DC Healthcare Alliance Program, the budget still brings the program to an eventual end. Alliance provides coverage to tens of thousands of District residents who are not eligible for Medicaid. The proposed budget would have ended adult eligibility completely in 2027, imposed harsh program rules, and cut certain coverage.

Instead, in the FY26 budget:

• Enrollment remains open for all eligible adults until October 1, 2025
• Eligible adults 26 years old and younger can enroll before October 1, 2027
• Enrollees do not need to recertify in person and can use various documents to show residency, including school enrollment  
• If you need help enrolling in Alliance, recertifying, or checking your coverage, Legal Aid DC can help.

Medicaid

Roughly 25,000 District residents will be moved from Medicaid to the Basic Health Plan, insurance that lacks many of the benefits participants had on Medicaid, such as non-emergency medical transportation, dental and vision care.

TANF

The mayor’s proposed budget included drastic cuts to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which provides cash assistance to families in need. The proposed budget would have eliminated a TANF cost-of-living adjustment and phased out adults who have received federal TANF benefits for more than 60 months. The enacted FY26 budget largely reverses those cuts by maintaining the cost-of-living adjustment and continuing to provide reduced amounts of assistance after a recipient has received benefits for 60 months.

The Council overwhelmingly supported increasing the TANF child support “pass-through” –the money that the government collects from noncustodial parents when a custodial parent receives TANF—from $150 to $200. This $50 increase means more money goes directly to families.

Housing

As attacks against our unhoused neighbors increase, it is even more important that District residents have access to safe, stable housing and that tenant rights are protected. Advocates were also able to gain ground in housing, but it will not be enough for DC to meaningfully address the housing crisis.  

Housing Preservation

Rehabilitating and maintaining DC’s existing stock of affordable housing is the most cost-effective and efficient way to preserve affordable housing. The Council committed to allocating $20 million to the Housing Production Trust Fund for affordable housing preservation. And if the District has excess revenue in September, an additional $10 million will go towards housing preservation.  

Housing Vouchers

The Council also increased the mayor’s allotment of family housing vouchers by $7 million and added 20 new vouchers for families being terminated from the Rapid Rehousing program. However, the Council and the mayor did not fund any new vouchers for individuals. ERAP

The FY26 budget allocates only $8.6 million for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) — $3.6 million more than what the Mayor proposed but still a cut of more than  $20 million.. ERAP, which helps tenants in crisis who have fallen behind on rent and are facing eviction, was already grossly underfunded and unable to meet residents’ demands. While the budget amount may increase by another $3 million if the city has excess revenue in September, it will still not be enough to address District tenants’ emergency needs.

Access to Justice

Funding restored for legal services!

We thank the Council for fully restoring Access to Justice funding, which the mayor’s proposed budget cut by over 65%. Cutting this funding, which often has a multiplier effect and ensures that residents can access the programs to which they are entitled, would have been catastrophic particularly given the changes and cuts to so many social safety net programs. Restoring this funding will ensure that people have support in securing food assistance, avoiding eviction, getting protective orders and so much more.